UTMC

I would like to develop a parking area for bikes at an incredibly rural and unlevel spot in eastern Tennessee. (Think gravel road, drainage ravine, instant steep elevation, no transitions berween). Dumping a shitload of gravel and raking it flat comes to mind, but it would likely wash away within a few years. I'm almost thinking like a wooden deck just off the road with some type of grip tape on top to keep it from being slippery in damp conditions, but again, I'd like some longevity to my efforts.

Anyone have any experience/ideas?

-Rench

Bulldozer makes a flat spot, spread big rocks, then smaller rocks, then pour a concrete slab.

guitargeek wrote:Bulldozer makes a flat spot, spread big rocks, then smaller rocks, then pour a concrete slab.

Quoted for truth. Nuke and Pave, its the UTMC way.

guitargeek wrote:Bulldozer makes a flat spot, spread big rocks, then smaller rocks, then pour a concrete slab.

Excellent and fair points, from the guy I could've asked directly.

But I see I forgot to mention my shoestring budget...

-Rench

Bigshankhank wrote:

guitargeek wrote:Bulldozer makes a flat spot, spread big rocks, then smaller rocks, then pour a concrete slab.

Quoted for truth. Nuke and Pave, its the UTMC way.

Nukes and Paves are not budget friendly.

M-80 and a "Fill Wanted" sign instead.

Did you ever find the dead body that was causing all the stink when we were there?

A more budget-friendly version would be pier and beam construction. You'll want to use pressure treated lumber, and build it more stoutly than you think it needs to be. A rule of thumb is one 4x8' sheet per bike, which will give you a little extra room.

Maybe a man-powered leveling party, where some friends with shovels and pickaxes carve out a pad much the way the unaffordable bulldozer would. It would be very difficult, but you'd sleep well that night.

Are there a lot of rocks around? A couple years ago I participated in the repair of a stone wall with an uncle-in-law, and he had basically checked out some books on mortarless stone wall building (I don't know how many of these you see in the Midwest, but here in New England the woods are full of very old stone walls) and I was pretty impressed with what a group of people can accomplish with rocks, patience, and a string level.

Racoon carcass in the stone well by the road Red.

GG, I was thinking that would be the route. I did post and Pier for the shack with deck blocks on 2' staggered rows, 4' spread posts. Any given 4x4 section has 5 posts supporting it. Thanks for the 4x8 spacing tip.

Basically I want to develop it enough to be usable by any of our East coast brethren. 100 miles from the Dragon, all kinds of other great riding closer.

Pattio, love the idea, can't handle the execution. Time is the commodity noone can part with. I'd do better to start a gofundme page to pay someone to do it. And yeah, stone walls are a rarity in the Midwest. We do split rail like noones business though.

-Rench

We can do this in a weekend with plywood, determination and explosives. The backfill is already there, its rocky as hell and the dirt porous. We'll borrow or rent (borrow I know a guy) a tamper, put up a stop (plywood) for where we want the wall to have an edge and blast out 1ft at a time, then tamp, then repeat. we can concrete the face for good measure. Should buy at least 20 years of use, as long as we build in drainage, which we will. It will be a good experiment in leveling before you try to put a lodge up there.

Junior has the way of it...

Mk3 wrote:We can do this in a weekend with plywood, determination and explosives. The backfill is already there, its rocky as hell and the dirt porous. We'll borrow or rent (borrow I know a guy) a tamper, put up a stop (plywood) for where we want the wall to have an edge and blast out 1ft at a time, then tamp, then repeat. we can concrete the face for good measure. Should buy at least 20 years of use, as long as we build in drainage, which we will. It will be a good experiment in leveling before you try to put a lodge up there.

Make a party weekend of it next season or late autumn, maybe the disMembership will rise to the occasion. It sounds like fun to me.